Yunnan generates 4.6 bln USD in silicon PV

A Chinese border province, rich in green energy, is expected to generate some 30 billion yuan (about 4.6 billion U.S. dollars) in its silicon photovoltaic (PV) sector in 2020, local authorities said.

The southwestern province of Yunnan has improved integrative hydropower and silicon-material processing development in the past five years. According to the provincial department of industry and information technology, it is to bolster its silicon PV industry.

Several leading enterprises in the PV industry have settled in Yunnan, including LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., which has invested over 20 billion yuan in the province, said Wang Yingge, the company's Brand General Manager.

The enterprises have formed an industrial production chain, covering industrial silicon, polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon rods, monocrystalline silicon wafers, and monocrystalline silicon cells.

To date, Yunnan has built monocrystalline silicon rods with a power generating capacity of 73 gigawatts (GW), monocrystalline silicon wafers with 70 GW, and PV modules with 50 megawatts. A polycrystalline silicon project is under construction with a production capacity of 150,000 tonnes, said the department.

High-purity crystalline silicon is mainly used for manufacturing photovoltaic cells and semiconductors. Yunnan's rich hydropower resources are important for high-purity crystalline silicon production.